Inver+Grove+Heights+Community+Schools

COMMUNITY GARDENS

PROJECT DETAILS Title: Using Community Gardens in Third Grade Classrooms Collaborators: Lori Gustafson, Joe Melde, School and District: Salem Hills Elementary Third Grade Students. Content Providers: Minnesota Landscape Arboretum Grade level: 3 Subject Areas: Science, Language Arts. Recommended Time Frame: The lessons will cycle through one school year. Culminating with the students applying what they have learned and planting a garden in the spring. MN State Standards Alignment Language Arts • III. Speaking and Listening ◦ A. The student will demonstrate and communicate effectively through listening and speaking. ◦ B. The student will critically analyze information found in electronic and print media, and use a variety of these sources to learn about a topic and represent ideas. • II. Writing ◦ A. Types of Writing ▪ The Student will write a paragraph with a topic sentence.

Science • 1. Life Science ◦ Diversity of Organisms ▪ The student will recognize that plants and animals have different structures that serve various functions. 2. Earth and Space Science ◦ The Universe • The student will recognize the difference between rotation and revolution and their connection to Day, Night and Seasons of the year.

BEGIN WITH THE END IN MIND What are the big ideas for your project? The students will learn plant identification. They will learn parts and types and learn to compare how different structures of plants serve various functions of growth and survival. The students will do a research project related to a community garden. Students will work in pairs or groups to contribute ideas and effort and respect others ideas and effort. Students will develop reading skills through research and demonstrate comprehension through the development of presentations. Students will develop writing skills by effectively planning the video conference presentation and communicating newly gained knowledge through the development of presentations. Students will gain experience with a novel and complex mode of communication that is becoming more commonplace in the academic environment, as well as the 21st Century workplace, while they develop interpersonal communication skills through real time meetings with students from other classrooms over H.323 video conference.

CRAFT THE DRIVING QUESTION
//What is the significant question that will drive this project?// State the essential question or problem statement and any subquestions relevant to this project. The problem statement should encompass all project content and outcomes, and provide a central focus for student inquiry. The driving question should engage students in authentic problem solving and require core subject knowledge to solve or answer. What can we learn through a community garden?

PLAN THE ASSESSMENT
//What are the products and artifacts for this project?// 1. Journal writing Reflection once a week based on the driving question: What did you learn from our community garden? The students will be expected to record what they have learned using pictures and words. This will be used as a tool for the students to reflect, question, and write. A grade will be given to the students on their ability to put their ideas into pictures and writing, and for what they have learned. The evidence in their learning will be what they write down. Accommodations will be made for students who aren't able to record their ideas in writing.

2. Harvesting and poetry Student will harvest the food that is in the garden in September. They will also listen to and write poems related to the garden or nature. Students will be assessed based on teacher observation, student reflection, and exit slip completion on the harvesting. The exit slip is a piece of paper that the student complete on their own. For example, it might ask: What did you learn? What difference will this make for you? The student poems will be assessed based on a rubric created with the students.

3. Service donating to others - 20% of food harvested needs to be donated As part of our commitment to the community garden, 20% of the food needs to be donated back to those in need. At Salem Hills we have 48% of our student population who receive free or reduced lunch. Our plan is to share what we harvest with the students at Salem Hills during lunch.

Students will create posters that show and explain making a difference for: others, earth. Or a poster explaining what it is and where it came from.

4. Seasons: Pumpkin Circle (Sun and Moon models) Vocabulary: rotation, revolution

The student will recognize the difference between rotation and revolution and their connection to Day, Night and Seasons of the year by working in teams of two to create a game or model that teaches these concepts. The student will then use their speaking skills to share these with another group of students.

5. Garden clean out: Plant diagram Through the harvesting, the students will take the plants, cut them into the different parts and create a diagram of the basic plant parts using the actual plant. They will use their writing skills to create and label the diagram.

7. Nutrition: Planning a healthy meal The student will plan a create a menu for a healthy meal for their family. The extension activity will be to work with their family to cook this at home.

8. Inquiry Base Group Research Project (3-5 sentence paragraph) The students will participate in a constructivist learning unit, where they come up with their own question relating to the garden, plants, structures of life, the seasons... learn how to research and use at least 3 different sources, learn how to take and record notes, write a 3-5 sentence paragraph with a topic sentence. They will also need to plan and teach what they learn to their peers.

Mapping a garden Research into growing plants in Inver Grove Heights Recording time capsule: digital photography Planting

Define products and artifacts early in the project, during the project, and at the end of the project. Include criteria for assessment with each product. Products and artifacts should align with the standards and outcomes for the project.

MAP THE PROJECT
//How will the project be organized?// Look at one major product for the project and analyze the tasks necessary to produce a high-quality product. Summarize what students will need to know, how, and when they will learn the necessary knowledge and skills to be able to complete the tasks successfully. List the project tools that you will use. Products and tasks should give all students the opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned.

MANAGE THE PROCESS
//How will you manage and facilitate this project?//

List preparations necessary to address needs for differentiated instruction for ESL students, special-needs students, or students with diverse learning styles. Summarize how you and your students will reflect on and evaluate this project. Facilitation should incorporate collaborative and student-centered activities.

=PROJECT RESOURCES=

Videoconference Lesson Plan
This is a copy of the lesson from the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum that we plan to use. We are working with the Arboretum so we will be able to make the Video Conference fit the lessons that we plan to do in the future. Kids will be able to ask questions pertaining to the inquiry based research project they will be doing and the garden they would like to plant and care for in the spring and summer. MINNESOTA HARVEST What does it matter where our food comes from? Students will explore how eating locally grown whole foods can save on gas. Use maps to calculate the trek foods take from field to table. Join us as we explore the foods grown in Minnesota, and examine the stories of how they got here. Students will harvest sweet potatoes from the Children’s Garden, mash apples into sauce, and husk popcorn from the cob as they learn about the origins of these plants and how they made their way into our Minnesota Thanksgiving celebration.

Documents
Upload as a word document or lesson plan.

Media Files
Includes images, video and audio.

We had a problem in our garden in the fall. I will let the video explain.

[|http://www.myfoxtwincities.com/dpp/news/pumpkins-stolen-from-kids’-garden]

This is a link to a newscast that the kids got to be a part of. This was because of the grant through Burpee Home Gardens. You can find that link below.

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Web Resources
Dakota County Master Gardeners []

Here is a link to our blog. In there you can find student and teacher posts about the events related this project. This is our classroom blog so there is lots of other information related to our year. [|www.mrmelde.blogspot.com]

Minnesota Landscape Arboretum: []

Buck Institute for Education [|http;//www.bie.org]

While working on this project we received a Qwest grant for our own videoconferencing equipment. Here is the link to that grant.

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This is a link to the Burpee Home Garden Blog. You can read more about the I Can Grow Grant our park and rec. department included our kids in.

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